Bee posing

A ride, and then...

Sometimes I ride and play with my camera at the same time, sometimes not. This weekend I just needed to ride. I headed out on my bike both yesterday and today sans camera. I usually have at least a point-and-shoot camera with me, but I needed to just ride.

Funny, I don't think I could revisit today's ride exactly. I just turned down roads that looked interesting, usually wondering where they would end, hoping that I would (sort of) know where I was. I was surprised again by the lack of street signs in this area. I should be used to that by now, but I'm not. Where else but the greater Boston area are there no signs on the roads. The small roads have names on them, but the larger (but still not large) roads do not. Why is that?

As I rode, I looked around me. And yes, I did need to drive back to the Ballardvale area with my camera after I saw the perfect reflection of a mill building in some quiet water. No, I don't regret riding without a camera. It was a good ride, followed by a good camera wander.

By the sea

What a beautiful day... I rode early, happy to be wandering on two wheels. But then... I had the urge (again!) to walk along the coast.

It was sunny and warm, a day when the beaches were likely to be quite crowded. I wanted a (somewhat) solitary walk, so I waited until 5:30 to leave home. I arrived at a favorite spot along the New Hampshire coast to find a quiet beach populated with other solitary walkers. The tide was heading out, so there was a wide swath of very walkable smooth sand.

Yes, I did get my feet wet. The water was actually quite warm.

Interested in a few more photos from today's wander? You can find them in the gallery By the sea... coastal New Hampshire 2009. The photos from this evening are at the beginning of the gallery.

Magic in the sky

Ocean sounds

Somehow what was in my mind last night jumped away from me when my alarm went off at 3:15 this morning. Why that early? I thought... I thought I might drive to the coast to watch the sun rise. The sun rose today at 5:11AM, with civil twilight beginning at 4:36. I'm a good 40 minute drive from the beach I had my mind set on visiting. But somehow, my body decided I needed more sleep rather than an early morning rise and drive. So yes, I did go back to sleep for another two hours!

Oh, you want to know what civil twilight is? I had to look it up too... it's the time when the sun is below the horizon but not more than 6 degrees below it. And yes, the sky is "lit" at that time.

Looking for sunrise (or sunset) at your house? The U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department provides a tool, Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day.

Back to my ramblings...

I headed out a little before 7, well after sunrise but still quite early in the day. My wanderings started at Salisbury Beach State Reservation. Walking along the beach, by the ocean, listening to the sound of waves. Walking by the fencing at the edge of the beach, fascinated by how much of the fencing - and the stairs from the boardwalks - had been covered by the sand.

I could see Plum Island from the southernmost part of the beach. It was early when I left Salisbury Beach, and my feet still were experiencing a bit of wanderlust. I headed inland just a bit - to get to a bridge that crossed the Merrimack River - and then jumped onto Plum Island. Ah - time for a quick visit to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The beaches there are closed since it is still piping plover nesting season, but there was plenty of space to wander on the inland side of the island. I walked some, and then I stood and watched the birds. Beautiful.




Interested in more photos? Jump to my gallery, Waves, sand, wind, walking.

A view of Boston

Late in the afternoon, I was looking for a place to wander, a place not too far from home. I didn't need to look too far.

I headed to Ward Reservation, a short two miles from my door, a place that I've never visited before. My goal? To meander up the trail to the top of Holt Hill. Its low 420 foot elevation is the highest point in Essex County, a point that provides a view of Boston in the distance.

The top of the hill is the home of the "Solstice Stones". Now I think I need to visit again on a solstice or equinox day to see if the stones actually perform their stated function:

The "Solstice Stones" form a compass-like arrangement of stones. The narrow stone in the NE quadrant points in the direction of where the sun rises on the longest day of the year - the summer solstice (around June 21) - and the narrow stone in the NW quadrant marks sunset on that day. At the time of the spring equinox (around March 21) and autumn (around September 23) equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west. On the shortest day of the year - the winter solstice (around Dec 22) - the sun rises and sets along the narrow stones in the SE and SW quadrants, respectively. Quote courtesy of The Trustees of Reservations, Ward Reservation

Conversations with...

...a turtle!

I just had to stop. I was rolling down a quiet road when I saw a somewhat large object moving slowly down the shoulder. I looked, looked again, then stopped to chat. There was slowly moving water and vegetation to the side, and this turtle had scraps of vegetation on its shell. I wonder if he was just out for a stroll or if he was looking for something specific.

Early morning sky

Look! blue sky and sunshine...

It feels like it has been a long time since I saw the sun. I know, I know, there was good weather last weekend - but ever since then it has been gray and rainy.

Today marked a change with pleasant outdoor play weather most of the day. Yes, it was a good day to ride.

The weather forecasters were correct in their prediction of thunderstorms between 4 and 5 PM though. I was sitting inside, happily reading, when I heard a loud crack of thunder. What time was it? 4:05 PM!

June gloom spills into July

It's been raining for so long that there was a diagram in the Boston Globe this morning on how to build an ark. No, I'm not kidding - and the article did bring laughter with it.

Cool, gray, wet...
It feels like summer isn't here yet, even though the calendar has passed the day of the summer solstice.

It wasn't quite a record, as noted by the National Weather Service in Boston:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA 1240 AM EDT WED JUL 01 2009 ...JUNE 2009 WAS UNUSUALLY COOL...CLOUDY AND FREQUENTLY WET ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND... THANKS TO A PERSISTENT TROUGH ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND...JUNE 2009 FEATURED PREDOMINANTLY COOL AND MOIST CONDITIONS. THE FOLLOWING IS A MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE LONG TERM CLIMATE SITES ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND. BOSTON TIED THE 6TH COOLEST JUNE ON RECORD WITH 1982. BOSTON LOGAN JUNE 2009 AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 63.3F...DEPARTURE -4.7F 16 DAYS OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION 0.01 INCH OR MORE OCCURRED IN JUNE 2009. THE NORMAL IS 10 DAYS. THE RECORD NUMBER OF DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION FOR ANY JUNE IS 18 DAYS SET IN 1942. OFFICIAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT IN BOSTON SINCE 1872. IT IS LIKELY THAT JUNE 2009 WAS THE SECOND GLOOMIEST JUNE MONTH RECORDED AT THE BLUE HILLS OBSERVATORY. THE LEAST JUNE SUNSHINE RECORDED WAS 25 PERCENT IN 1903 AND 36 PERCENT IN 1998. OFFICIAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT AT THE BLUE HILLS OBSERVATORY SINCE 1885.

As we head into a 3-day holiday weekend, I'm hoping that the forecast calling for a return of some sunshine is correct.